Posted 6 years ago on Jan. 25, 2012, 7:53 a.m. EST by therising
(6643)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

The most cynical of the 1%, in their darker moments in country club locker rooms and smoke filled parlors, delight in the fact that we, the 99% squabble amongst ourselves. It is what allows 1% of the citizens to make most of the decisions in a country where each person 18 or over may vote.

We all need to take a deep breath and think about this. Because, although there may SEEM to be a huge difference of opinion among members of the 99%, when you take a step back, we really all have the same foot on our necks. Whether we're old or young, Catholic or atheist, middle class or poor, we all experience a similar resistance that is well funded, well organized and positively undemocratic.

As soon as we realize this, we'll greatly disturb the status quo. This is because we, the 99%, will begin to focus less on what divides us and will focus more on what unites us. At that point, it will begin to dawn on us.... "Wait a second. Each of us has a vote. And although we have differences, there are some core action items that we the 99% all agree upon and the results would benefit us all." it is at that point that we will escape the chains of nihilism that has been forced on us by relentless consumer marketing. It is that point that we begin to think for ourselves.

And then..... as we begin to consider how to gain enough power to take action on this list, it will dawn on us that we ALREADY have that power. We each have a vote. In 2005, Citibank sent a memo (google "2005 Citibank memo" or "Citigroup-Oct-16-2005-Plutonomy-Report-Part-1.pdf") to its wealthiest clients advising them how to invest in the changing landscape of America. In this memo, Citibank analysts were exceedingly candid with their wealthy clients. They told them POINT BLANK that America is no longer a democracy, it's a plutonomy - a country which is controlled by and is set up to benefit the richest 1%. They told them that the best investments going forward were likely to be luxury goods because the middle class and poor were going to have less and less and the rich were going to have more and more.

They also reviewed risks to this investment strategy, indicating that one of the only hitches could be that it's possible that at some point the majority of citizens would awaken to the fact that each person has a vote and they would exercise that right. Citibank put the odds of that as very low but told their clients they'd keep them posted of anything changed on that front. Their view was that, although it's true that each person really does have a vote, they won't be motivated enough, organized enough, frustrated enough or smart enough to actually use the power that is already within their grasp.

If we can begin to focus on what we have in common rather than what divides us, we can make decisions from a position of unified power rather than making demands from a position of divided weakness. How funny to discover that we've had the power all along. We just haven't used it.

42 Comments

Good post (as always). A quote from Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. which, not surprisingly, calls itself 'The Firm:' "Beyond war, inflation, the end of the technology/productivity wave, and financial collapse, we think the most potent and short-term threat would be societies demanding a more equitable share of wealth." A lot can be gleaned as to their mindset from this one sentence.

The same thing is happening in Italy. All the Country is uprising in a commun effort to regain the democracy and the freedom. Italy is upset. We're winning. The world is about reaching again the targets of the French revolution: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité".
I'm happy to note that your words sound as the slogan of Marx.
"Workers all over the word, uprise. You have just to lose your chains".

Let's be realistic. At one time in this country we had much more public participation in our democracy, many more people were involved in voluntary civic associations, etc., these days, not so much. My parents tell me that at one time neighbors actually talked to one another, there were things like bowling leagues and Elk clubs, the history books tell me at one point in the remote past, our society was flooded with newspapers of all sorts, a real free press, that people actually read (go figure). Was it suburbanization, technology ... what created this world where we put grandmothers in old folks homes?

Is it too late for our society? I think maybe .... but will we be like the Phoenix, and eventually rise from the ashes? Or, is the dream illusory? Few will want to admit that we're a society in decline, but objectively speaking, we are in decline, so the vultures are circling to get every last drop while it lasts.

I don't see how we can all be experts on everything (banking regulation? environmental restrictions? Health care legislation?). Doesn't seem to make practical sense this direct online democracy thing. Just practically speaking we need to elect representatives who can devote time and focus.

japan....they called obama a fool for apologizing recently. Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved many more Japanese and American lives than it took. The Japanese people knew they had lost but Hirohito would have let them all die before surrendering.

VietNam? See no reason for that question unless you regurgitating anti west propaganda.

Iraq? Mistake since you can't help people that won't help themselves.

Afghanistan...initial action justified by 9/11. Execution of operations, another story since we are too nice when we fight

how about you? Do you think Allah approves of killing innocents in his name? Did 9/11 make you happy? Is it ok for suicide bombers to kill anywhere, anytime, if they do it in the name of Allah?

We believe that USA created its 9/11 himself.
if not you tell us why they do'nt let International community for opening the 9/11 black box??!!!
It is very ugly that we do it ourselves and assign it to muslims!!!

In addition we do'nt know al-Qaida and Taliban as Muslim peoples, not at all..

We believe that USA with Saudi created this terrorist groups themselves to destruct the prestige of islam, islam does not accumulate with terror.

ya i think ur right, although i think if there were less humans on the planet, i think i would feel more free. shame on them for imposing on me. charging me to carry a gun, charging me to drive a car. telling me what i can and cant do like wearing a seatbelt. really its none of their dam business, and makeing me hardened to the point i dont like people anymore.

Having spoken about this to anyone that would listen for the past 30 years I am not so optimistic. One of the things that causes me the greatest concern is how silent the left/Dem,s were/ are about how the 15% tax rate was not reduced by Bush in 2001. I explained in detail to Ben Wikler who at the time (in 2005) was Al Franken’s producer. This is explosive when explained to people but no one with a mic will talk about it, so I’m not sure anybody’s really in this game yet.

Essentially the public dialog is being stripped of clear content and constructive breakdown, in the media on large scales...

And so a lot of the media coverage is veiled distortion and attempts to manipulate the viewer by various ego tactics, to turn one segment of society on another...
Not to mention to desensitize viewers with a constant barrage of commercials with distorted postured perspectives on the issues...

Definitely, the media is what is preventing the dialog from bringing the issues to the public in a meaningful way...

Whoever controls the mainstream media discussion, has the momentum and therefore generally controls the public perception... So the media has a huge influence, and has much responsiblilty for directly obstructing progress...

The media downplays important issues, engages in entertainment gossip and noise to obstruct healthy discussion of issues...

What strategies might work to occupy the media? My view is they're hungry for stories so we need to be proactive and feed the animal to further the cause and further build support. The truth is that most Americans have the same foot of corporatism on their necks......